Backup takes the reins

Zach Shultis has stepped in
and thrown 11 touchdown passes with one interception for Cal
Lutheran.Cal Lutheran athletics photo

Zach Shultis regularly sees the football field for the point
after. More recently he has been contributing directly to the other
six points.

Shultis, a backup quarterback at Cal Lutheran, has been filling
in as starter over the last three games and has been a big factor
in the Kingsmen's three straight wins.

Since starting quarterback Kevin Ramay went down with a broken
thumb in the second quarter of Week 6 with Redlands, Shultis has
executed the Cal Lutheran offense with great precision. Shultis has
completed 52 of 71 passes for 753 yards (73.2 percent), 11
touchdowns and just one interception. The 5-1 Kingsmen are at
Whittier this week.

"He's just got a great command of our offense," Kingsmen coach
Ben McEnroe said. "When a backup comes in sometimes you have to
limit what you have to do. We haven't had to do that. Zach has been
completely accurate. We couldn’t ask for more with that. He
has been extremely efficient and has done everything we've wanted
him to do."

That includes kicking extra points as Shultis is a perfect
25-for-25 on the season. The field goal and kickoff duties are
handled by David Sandler.

"We do all special teams at beginning of practice," Shultis
said. "Then I hold for field goals and then I move over for the
quarterbacks. It's exciting but I enjoy doing it, anything for the
team."

Shultis and Ramay had an intense battle to open the camp with
Ramay winning out. Ramay was the quarterback in the first three
weeks before his injury. He will be coming back soon after he
heals.

Kevin Ramay is expected to
return before the end of the season from his broken thumb.Photo by Joe Bergman, d3photography.com

"There's no doubt that Kevin is our starter when he is healthy,"
McEnroe said. "Zach knows that Kevin is the starting quarterback, I
don't see any change in Zach's approach. It will propel Kevin to
compete when he comes back which makes better competition and makes
for a better team."

And the two quarterbacks have also forged a tight bond through
all of it.

"It's a great competition," Shultis said. "It was neck and neck
going in. We became close friends and we help each other out. It's
competitive but it's what you want. Everything is for the
betterment of the team. We both support each other, we both help
each other. We have friendly competition, but at the same time, we
both want to play."

When Ramay comes back, there's no telling whether Shultis will
be back in the fold or not. Regardless, McEnroe is impressed with
what Shultis has accomplished.

"It's a great example of what you tell young people when
things don't go your way. He's a great example to his teammates.
He's been more than ready. The maturity of a loss of tough
quarterback battle and still being able to be impressive speaks a
lot about the kid."

Behind the number

27

Consecutive games UW-Whitewater had won in WIAC play before
UW-Oshkosh topped the Warhawks 28-13 Saturday.